Next week, the Fulton County School Board will finally vote on the possible closure of Parklane Elementary in East Point and Spalding Drive Elementary in Sandy Springs. The closures would be due to the cost of operations, declining enrollment and old buildings, officials say. Spalding Drive Elementary opened in 1966 and Parklane Elementary opened in 1953.
If the school board votes to permanently close the schools, they will be doing so over the constant objections of elected officials, parents, and students. Current and former students of Spalding were among the commenters at a public hearing on the issue Tuesday night.
“I am six years old, in first grade at Spalding,” Jacob Robb said. “I love my school. I am [in the Talented and Gifted program] in accelerated math. My favorite thing is my teachers … Please keep my school open for me and my sister … who will go next year for pre-K.”
The public hearing took place during a school board work session at the North Learning Center in Sandy Springs where more than 30 people made public comment. Parents from Spalding and Parklane accused the school system of misleading the public on the reasons for considering the closures.
Parents said enrollment is increasing, they love the teachers and students show personal growth while performing well.
Below is a video by Petchenik Media Group showing current and former students of Spalding Drive Elementary asking the school board to keep the school open. Abby Lee, Hannah Rosenbaum, Noah Rosenbaum and Jacob Robb commented.
Under redistricting in East Point, Parklane students will not be transferred to a new Conley Hills Elementary School that will open in August. Instead, students who now walk to school with their parents will have to travel further away to either Hamilton E. Holmes or Hapeville Elementary Schools.
Parklane pre-K parent Jennifer Agel said her family moved from Gwinnett County to East Point last October and chose their neighborhood because of the school.
“We were blown away by the passion of the teachers, the joy of the students and the supportive environment that felt perfect for our daughter,” Agel told the school board. “The [enrollment] numbers only appear lower because we host essential special education programs that require small class sizes.”
She continued, “Instead of seeing our school for what it truly is: a vital resource for very real children and families with specific needs, it has been reduced to a budget line item.”
Parklane parents have offered to fundraise for the cost of school repairs and suggest a marketing campaign to attract families from charter and private schools, Agel said.
Amy Lund, a pre-K teacher at Spalding Drive Elementary, has two children who attend the Sandy Springs school. She said parents and teachers felt “blindsided” when first hearing that the school might permanently close.
“As time went on, we felt confused, misled and undervalued,” Lund said during public comment. “We’ve made a lot of noise about this [possible] closing, and, depending on next week’s vote, I don’t think we’re done yet.”
Spalding parents, in conducting their own research, say enrollment is increasing and some of the needed repairs to the school building have already taken place.
New housing development is a factor in new enrollment at Spalding Drive Elementary, and the school board and staff say they have current data. But Sandy Springs city council members are questioning whether the school board has complete, updated information on new residential development coming to the city.
Sandy Springs has more than 2,100 new multi-family housing units that are under construction or in the permitting phase, Councilwoman Melody Kelley told school board members.
More new housing is expected as the city works to attract affordable “missing middle housing” development for teachers, police officers, and other professions, she said.
Sandy Springs Councilman John Paulson advised the school board to allow more time to consider what is best for Spalding Drive Elementary and revise outdated policies that are leading to closure of the school.
“One of the biggest issues is it doesn’t recognize excellence [in the case of Spalding],” Paulson said of the board’s policies. “…We recognize excellence in athletics, excellence in academics and in schools, and then we [want to] close one of the better-performing schools. It just doesn’t make sense.”
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